In Defense Of The Free-Spirited: How The Way Of Life Is Both A Blessing And A Curse

Fly. Spread your wings. Explore the highest heights. Say yes more often than you say no. Live fearlessly and indulge every single opportunity that comes your way. Don’t be afraid to dream big and conquer all of your quests, regardless of what society deems to be appropriate.

Life is yours for the taking; you dictate it because you are writing your own story, and you want to make it a good read, right?

That’s how I live my life — or at least, that’s how I have always attempted to live my life. I always intend to be a free spirit without allowing anything (other than my dreams and ambitions) to weigh me down.

I love being a free spirit; I love the derived sense of freedom with which it fills me. I love that there is no venture or goal I won't consider. I love being open to new ideas, experiences, people and cultures.

Nothing, so far, has stopped me from doing what I want to do with my life. Yes, of course, I take my responsibilities and the people I love into consideration, but ultimately, I do what feels right in my heart. I listen to my curiously loud instinct and I follow it.

With all the highs, there can also be some lows. Being a free spirit can be a gift and a curse, all at once. The journeys – physical and emotional – through which it can take you go above and beyond your expectations. You will live to tell the most memorable stories and have the most amazing experiences on which to reflect and share.

When you are spreading your wings, however, flying from place to place, chasing dreams and not stopping when you don't want to, you can isolate yourself. It can be lonely because it is difficult to express something you cannot put into words.

The desire and fire inside of you can make you feel like you are the only one who is supposed to understand it. So, how do you begin to even explain it to anyone else?

A free-spirited person loves like everyone else, but without much sacrifice. Free-spirited people are not selfish in the sense that they won’t give if someone is in need. Rather, they are free-spirited in the sense that they will not compromise when it comes to the things they want to do with their lives.

They will not abandon dreams or do anything that doesn’t make them personally happy, even if it's for someone else’s version of ideal. Their wings are hard to clip when it comes to the fulfillment they find in their lives.

Free spirits can be seen as untamable, as they strive for things that many believe to be unattainable. They can come across as misunderstood, and sometimes, they confuse people with their logic and ways of thinking. To themselves, however, their thought process makes perfect sense.

If you are trying to catch one of these individuals, my advice is to love, but in a way that allows him or her to still feel free. When this open-minded explorer decides to commit to you, it probably means that he or she has loyally fallen for you, anyway.

So, if you want to keep your feet firmly on the ground for the time being, let the free spirit wander, achieve and fly. Free spirits always come back to you in the end.